From: X phelia <xphelia@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1999 19:54:10 EDT
Subject: Story Submission: A Good Sign (1/1) vignette

Title: A Good Sign
Author: Xphelia (Xphelia@hotmail.com)
Distribution: Anywhere, just let me know.
Rating: PG
Classification: H
Keywords: M/S friend/ smidge of UST
Spoilers: One Son
Timeline: A while after One Son, but nothing after it.
Summary:  M&S , a deal, a movie, and some furniture.
Disclaimer: yada yada yoda
Author's Notes: Pretty much, this is my first endeavor
into the xfile fan fic world.  I hope it's up to snuff,
and now, for something completely different, well, not
really, but anyway, on to "A Good Sign".

FEEDBACK: YES, PLeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaze!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Good Sign
by
Xphelia

There are times in a man's life when one has to
take a stand... and place it before the window - now
to the right. No wait, move it to the left... a little
more... a little more. There.

"I don't know, maybe it should go back to the right
again," Scully said, surveying her living room while
tapping her lip with a finger nail.

I straightened my back, reaching for the ceiling. Twisting
my neck, I ended the 360 degree circle to face my
partner.  "Scully, if I have to move this thing
one more time...."

A person only has so much patience.

"I guess it's fine where it is," Scully conceded, still
studying it.

Good, because I was seriously worried that I'd be
sportin' a Quasimodo stance for the rest of my
natural life.  To call that two ton piece of wood
heavy, well, let's just say I could be more vocally
descriptive about it.  I gave a disgusted look
toward my temporary nemesis. Oh, and being
macho only went so far, despite how dedicated
you might be to the lady you're trying to make
happy.

I crossed her living room and came over to stand
beside Scully. Wrapping an arm about her shoulders,
I turned back to look at my handy work.

Crap.

"Maybe it could go to the right, a bit," I realized,
looking at the lack of symmetry.

"No, no, it's fine, Mulder,"Scully said, pulling from
my arm. Well, okay then... no touchy-feely today it
seemed -- not the best of signs, there.

I don't know if it was the slight chill I picked up
from Scully or not, but I grabbed my sweater
off her chair and pulled it over my t-shirt. I decided
to let the chill be from the winter wind that was
trying to break into the apartment building.

"Well, now that, that is finally done, how 'bout you pay
the piper, partner. Oh yeah, that's right; I do believe it's
time to settle up," I said to her, plopping down upon
her sofa and giving her a wink.

She rolled her eyes.  Typical, but I was not to
be daunted.

"Mulder, I... I don't think that's a good idea," Scully
hedged, biting her lip.

She *must* be kidding.

"Ah, see, but that's where you're wrong," I replied,
getting up and pulling my leather jacket off the coat
rack.  I rooted around in the pocket, grabbing the video
tape I'd made sure to bring with me.

Okay, as gallant as I can sometimes be... well, as gallant as
I can sometimes be when I wanted to, (whatever) I really hadn't
relished the idea of carting that stereo stand around
today.

I mean, I knew Scully, and Scully could be worse than
my mother, (Which, I shuddered to think about them within the
same thought) but when it came to creating spatial relations,
Scully was one for precision.  Unfortunately, this well-honed
talent was extending beyond interior decor and leaking into
our very own interpersonal relations.

Consequently, or counter-attacking, (whichever you choose) I
made a deal, a deal that gave me the excuse to stay on
at Scully's even after my manly prowess with furniture
arrangement had been displayed.

"Ah, here it is," I said, successful. I rummaged through
the other pocket, having to pull my gloves out before finding
my glasses.  Slipping the frames on, and armed with tape in
hand, I took up residence upon the couch again.

"It is imperative that when viewing this tape, one doesn't
miss a moment of the action," I informed her, smiling
smugly and tapping the side of my glasses.

"Mulder, it's Saturday and, really, I don't want to take
up your day or anything.  We can do this later," Scully
offered.

Ah, not so quick, partner.

"Oh no, Scully.  I've got nowhere special to be, except
right here with you, sugar," I said, all sunshine and
sweetness.  I gave her my best come hither look while
patting the couch cushion beside me.

In return, she gave me the eye roll again. Which still
meant I was in business, definitely a good sign.  I ran
a hand through my hair, pushing it off my forehead.

I needed another haircut, but maybe not so severe
this time.  I will never go to that butcher again. 'A little
off the top' apparently translates into 'buzz the top'.
Guess that's what I get for a five buck job, but Byers had
sworn by the old guy.  I gave my head a shake, refocusing
my attention to the issue at hand.

I really had to stop that wandering habit.

"Come on, Scully, I guarantee you'll like this one,
it's one of my personal favorites," I cajoled, shaking
the video box and hearing the tape rattle against the
plastic.

"Mulder," she near whispered, And man alive, do I love it
when her voice slips down to that register, very sexy. She
made a clearing sound with her throat, her voice
stronger. Damn. "Mulder, I've, uh... I've never seen one of
these before."

What? She had to be kidding.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked, shaking my head in
shock. "How is that possible, Scully? You've NEVER seen
one of these, ever?"

"No, all right! Never," she replied, crossing her arms against
her chest and tapping her foot, daring me to comment further.

Never let it be said that I don't pick up the gauntlet
when thrown.

I smiled, slyly, turning my gaze back at the video box within
my hand. "Oh, Scully, you don't know what you've been missing."

I looked back to her, catching her smirk.

"I'm sure," she replied.

I strung my arm across the back of her sofa, placing the
video tape upon my lap.  I reached for the remote on the
end table beside me. "Come on over here, Scully."

I pressed the "on" button and her television flared to
life.

"Wait, here, would you?" I asked, handing her the tape, "Just
slide it in, the VCR is ready for it."

I waggled my eyebrows.

She shook her head, but grabbed the tape and inserted it into
the VCR.

"Mulder, I don't see the point of this little display," Scully
said, clearly agitated and standing beside the TV, seemingly
mesmerized by the blue screen. "Besides, I could never get
into these things."

"Scully, you aren't going back on a deal, are you?" I asked,
looking at her, wide-eyed. She quickly faced me again, gave
an irritated huff, the color in her face rising.

If I knew one thing about Scully, it's that she would
never be caught breaking her word.  What I think is, that (well,
what I know) is that she hadn't expected me to be serious
about this when we struck the deal on the phone this morning.
But, short of an alien sighting, I was completely serious and
wasn't prepared to go anywhere else this afternoon.

Besides which, it was freezing outside.

"Well, Mulder, I didn't expect that you'd want us to.. to
watch this together," Scully said, averting her eyes.

As gratifying as watching the movie alone can be, it's
always better to share it with someone, always.

"What did you think, I'd quiz you on the plot come Monday," I
asked, smirking.

"No, well... maybe, I don't know," Scully stammered, flustered.

"Scully, I want to share this with you, I think... I think
we need this," I said, capturing her eyes with my own, my
light tone disappearing. "Things have been way to serious
lately."

If that wasn't the understatement of the millennium, I couldn't
tell what was.  We'd gotten the Xfiles back, great. But back at
what price? Spender's life?

Jeffrey Spender was found dead in our office and I know that
affected Scully.  Hell, it affected me.  I'm not saying I
was a fan of the weasel, but still, I mean, geez, dead? There
was no leads and I had a feeling that there never would be.

Then there was the Diana debacle.  When will I ever learn,
or at least, stick to my tried and true adage of, "Trust No
One."  Well, no one but Scully, that is. I know I needed to
do some serious atoning for how I treated her.

I knew that.

I was actually surprised and well, okay, elated, that she'd
called me this morning.  It was the first time since, well,
just "since".

I gave a little shake, clearing away that train of thought. I
didn't particularly want to go there right now.  Suffice
it to say, that a bit of maxin' and relaxin' was in order,
otherwise one of us would explode, no doubt taking the
other with them. Either way, not good.

"Serious lately," Scully said, repeating part of my
comment,"Yeah, you'll get no argument here."

I can't help cringing at her word choice, but I let
it pass without remark.

I know, amazing, isn't it?

Instead, I patted the couch again, tilting my head
and signaling for her to come sit beside me.

"I... I...," she clamped her lips closed and sat on the
couch at the far end from me, her arms still crossed and
her face scrunched up. It was a start, I guessed.

"Well, geez, Scully, if you're gonna be like that
there's no way you'll enjoy this flick, " I said,
scooching over to sit beside her and successfully
trapping her between me and the side of the couch.

Daring, I know, but I didn't stop there.

I strung my arm behind her. I was *all* about spatial
relations, precisely attempting to demolish the chasm
that had grown between us. Which, I was surprised to
see, she hadn't shoved me away.  Perhaps she wanted the
same thing too.

I could only hope. It was, at least, a good sign, a very
good sign.

Well, though she allowed me to "snuggle up" as it were,
she remained sitting stiff and unyielding. I slid my arm
down to her shoulder and gave it a little rub, "Scully,
relax, loosen up."

I continued to rub her shoulder. I felt a bit of
the anxiety releasing its grip upon her. Oh, and the
sweater she was wearing -- I liked it. It was warm
and soft to the touch, not to mention how well it
played with the blue of her eyes... and man, she
smelled good too. I gave myself a mental shake.

It would probably be best if I stuck to re-affirming
our friendship instead of letting my thoughts explore,
um, other "avenues".

"You okay?" I asked, cocking my head toward her, trying
to capture her gaze with my own.

She let out a long breath then turned to meet my
stare, "Yeah."

A "yeah" was definitely good, much better then the
expected "Fine"... yet again, another good sign.
Things were definitely looking up.

I couldn't help but smile, as without looking, ( I think
I've used her remote more than she has) I pressed play.

I fast forwarded through the credits, because I knew I'd
lose her right then and there, particularly if she had
to listen to the beginning.  I was, after all, bringing
a reluctant viewer to this. Best not to scare off
the skittish.

I pressed play again, just as the screen went black.
Finally, the black lifted to reveal a swirling mist with
the following words overlaying the frame:"England AD 787".

"Mulder, am I going crazy or did I just see 142 Mexican
whooping llamas flash across the screen?" Scully asked,
turning a quick glance to me. Her face, grinning at the
ludicrous idea.

"Don't worry, Scully, the people responsible have been
sacked," I assured her letting my attention be absorbed
by the brilliance displayed upon the television.

If being at Oxford had given me anything, I could at least
claim to have been given an unflappable devotion to Monty
Python.

Well, Python and BlackAdder... but I'll save that one for
next weekend.

I gave her shoulder another slight squeeze and was happy to
feel her rest her weight against me -- a very good sign,
indeed.

~finis~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FEEDBACK: Xphelia@hotmail.com